The Chilton County Sheriff’s Department recently used its aviation unit for the first time to apprehend an armed suspect roaming the woods on County Road 54, close to Montevallo.

On July 11, deputies arrested John Kenneth Jaroszek, 52, after two reported burglaries on County Road 54 involving stolen items including firearms.

Sheriff Kevin Davis said deputies originally responded to a call from a resident living on County Road 54 on July 10 who reported his home had been broken into and several firearms had been stolen.

After the deputies filed a report, another call on July 11 from a different resident living on County Road 54 reported his home had been broken into and he saw someone running from the home.

“Fortunately, the resident of the second home knew the individual who was running away so he was able to provide us with a detailed description,” Davis said. “We knew we had a suspect who was armed and on foot in that area so we deployed our aviation unit and our canine unit.”

After 45 minutes of searching in the woods along County Road 54, deputies were able to spot Jaroszek and allow the air support to suppress him while the canine unit apprehended Jaroszek.

“He was arrested without incident and taken into custody with a stolen firearm on him,” Davis said.

Davis said Jaroszek was also a registered sex offender who had relocated and not registered his current location.

“He was just a bad guy that needed to get off the streets,” Davis said. “We were happy to have the manpower to locate him and apprehend him. This was the first time we have used our aviation unit to apprehend someone and it was tremendously helpful.”

Jaroszek was charged with two counts of burglary, one count of theft and charged with a sex offender status of failure to register.

He is currently in the Chilton County jail on a $15,000 bond.